A thigh injury picked up with Turkey at UEFA EURO 2008™ is testing the patience of Nihat Kahveci as he looks ahead to "a very tough season" at Villarreal CF.

UEFA Champions League contenders Liverpool FC have signed France Under-19 striker David Ngog from Paris Saint-Germain FC for a reported transfer fee of €1.5m.

Cypriot UEFA Champions League hopefuls Anorthosis Famagusta FC have made a massive transfer coup by bringing in Greece central defender Traianos Dellas.

Some well-known sides will be checking their maps of Europe as the end of the first qualifying round decided their upcoming UEFA Champions League adversaries.

Dublin is preparing for its biggest game since 2004 after Irish champions Drogheda United FC set up a UEFA Champions League tie against FC Dynamo Kyiv.

Drogheda United defender Graham Gartland could not hide his delight following his crucial strike in his side’s defeat of Levadia Tallinn in Estonia on Wednesday evening.

Kaunas confirmed their place in the Champions League second round draw where they will face Rangers.

Some of the big-ish guns will know who they have to overcome to make it to the next round of Qualifying in the Champions League this season after the First Qualifying Round finished this evening. The big winners of the matchday were Ventspils, who overcame a 1-0 defeat in the first leg against Welsh Champions Llanelli spectacularly with a 4-0 win. UEFA Cup finalists Rangers will play Kaunus in the Second Qualifying round, a club owned by fellow-Scottish club Hearts owner Vladimer Romonov.
Full results and fixtures after the jump.

Linfield 1–3 Dinamo Zagreb (0–2, 1–1)
Valletta 0–3 Artmedia Petržalka (0–2, 0–1)
Dinamo Tbilisi 3–1 NSÍ Runavík (3–0, 0–1)
Santa Coloma 2–7 Kaunas (1–4, 1–3)
Murata 0–9 IFK Göteborg (0–5, 0–4)
Llanelli 1–4 Ventspils (1–0, 0–4)
Anorthosis Famagusta 3–0 Pyunik Yerevan (1–0, 2–0)
Inter Baku (a)1–1 Rabotnički (0–0, 1–1)
Tampere United 3–2 Budućnost (2–1, 1–1)
F91 Dudelange 0–3 Domžale (0–1, 0–2)
Dinamo Tirana 1–4 Modriča (0–2, 1–2)
Aktobe 1–4 Sheriff Tiraspol (1–0, 0–4)
Drogheda United 3–1 Levadia (2–1, 1–0)
BATE 3–0 Valur (2–0, 1–0)

Second Qualifying Round Fixtures

Rangers V Kaunas
Brann V Ventspils
Inter Baku V Partizan
Tampere United V Artmedia Petržalka
Anorthosis Famagusta V Rapid Wien
Domžale V Dinamo Zagreb
Panathinaikos V Dinamo Tbilisi
IFK Göteborg V Basel
Sheriff Tiraspol V Sparta Prague
Drogheda United V Dynamo Kyiv
Anderlecht V BATE
Beitar Jerusalem V Wisła Kraków
Fenerbahçe V MTK Hungária
Aalborg BK V Modriča

Picks of the round are One-time Champions League finalists Panathinaikos taking on Dinamo Tbilisi, and Goteborg who hammered thier way through the first qualifying round, coming against the tougher Basel.

Games will be played on the 29 and 30 of July, and the the second legs on the 5 and 6 of August.

The lineup for the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round is now confirmed and features a pair of newcomers in Drogheda United FC and FK Modriča.

Turkey international Emre Belözoğlu has been unveiled at Fenerbahçe SK following the conclusion of the 27-year-old midfielder's move from Newcastle United FC.

Former FC Porto coach José Couceiro knows "a lot of improvements are needed" in order for his FBK Kaunas side to be ready to challenge Rangers FC next week.

Portugal international defender Fernando Meira has signed a three-year contract with Turkish champions Galatasaray AS after being released by VfB Stuttgart.

Raúl González has said Real Madrid CF are desperate to win a tenth European Champions Clubs' Cup as the Spanish giants prepare for the new season in Austria.

Drogheda United will meet Dynamo Kiev in the second qualifying round, but Linfield are out.

Montenegrin champions FK Budućnost Podgorica are on the scent of the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round as they play host to Tampere United.

Valletta FC defender Josef Mifsud insists spirits are high as the Maltese champions look to overturn a 2-0 deficit against FC Artmedia Petržalka this evening.

Last season was a miserable season for Chelsea’s Micheal Ballack. The German midfielder finished runner up in the League Cup, The EPL, The Champions League and Euro 2008, with Chelsea and Germany respectively. This isn’t the first time this has happened to him either - back in 2002, he came second in the Bundesliga, Champions League, German League Cup and the 2002 World Cup. The question posed over at The Guardian was “Is he the biggest loser of all time” - The answer, surprisingly is No. Find out who is the shock winner at losing after the jump.

The winner, is Milan legend Poalo Maldini. Ballack has a mere 12 runner up medals. The legendary Italian, who of course is very good at winning too, has picked up an incredible 17 runner up medals in his Milan carrer. These are:

Three Champions League Finals
Three World Club Cups
Two Coppa Italias
Three Supercoppa Italias
One Uefa Super Cup
A World Cup (1994)
And Euro 2000
Three Seasons Milan have finished Serie A 2nd.

An incredible record, and just shows that when it comes to losing, the German Midfielder can’t even get that right!

Anorthosis Famagusta FC coach Temuri Ketsbaia warned his players not to get "into any hot water" when they defend a 1-0 lead against FC Pyunik in Yerevan.

FK Ventspils and FC Sheriff both overturned first-leg defeats to make the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round while FC İnter Bakı also progressed.